The invention concerns cosmetic compositions, such as deodorant compositions. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the invention is a stick type cosmetic composition, such as deodorant stick compositions comprising a base solvent system comprising diglycerol, and optionally polyhydric alcohols, and water and gelled with alkali metal salts (e.g. sodium salts) of saturated fatty acids. Preferably, the cosmetic stick compositions are sodium stearate gelled systems. The deodorant compositions of the invention comprising diglycerol exhibit improved clarity, enhanced and stronger fragrance impact, and a directional increase in fragrance longevity. The deodorant compositions may further comprise monohydric alcohols, surfactants, emollients, fatty alcohols, stabilizing agents, antimicrobial agents, cooling agents, fragrance, dyes, pH regulating agents, chelating agents, processing aids and the like.
Deodorant compositions having enhanced and stronger fragrance impact and directional increase in fragrance longevity are desired by the consumer. The fragrance masks the malodor that can occur at the axilla as a result of wetness and microbiological activity. Also, particularly in applications where the deodorant composition is in the form of a stick, clarity is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,928 describes antiperspirant compositions comprising an amount of antiperspirant active that is dependent on the molecular weight of the polyols used in the antiperspirant compositions. Diglycerol is identified among the myriad of polyols that can be used in these antiperspirant compositions.
Cosmetic compositions linked to the inhibition of body odor comprising alkyl esters combined with carrier agents are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,341. A number of carrying agents are identified for use with the alkyl esters including mono- and poly-hydroxylic alcohols, such as diglycerol. U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,092 describes skin-moisturizing mixtures comprising a humectant having about 90% to 10% glycerol and about 90% to 10% diglycerol. The combination of the glycerol and diglycerol is said to have a synergistic moisturizing effect.
It was an object of the invention to develop cosmetic compositions, and in particular, deodorant compositions having improved clarity.
It was a further object of the invention to develop compositions having stronger fragrance impact and directional increase in fragrance longevity.
It was a further object of the invention to develop compositions having ease of application, improved skin feel (e.g. reduced tackiness and stickiness) and reduced irritation potential.
These and other objectives are achieved by the compositions described herein having a base solvent system comprising at least diglycerol. The compositions have improved clarity. Deodorant compositions comprising diglycerol also have stronger fragrance impact and directional increase in fragrance longevity, as well as ease of application, improved skin feel and reduced irritation potential.
In the present Specification, all parts and percentages are on a weight/weight basis unless otherwise specified.
The invention pertains to cosmetic compositions, preferably stick-type compositions, such as deodorant stick compositions. The compositions have a base solvent system comprising diglycerol and, optionally, polyhydric alcohols, such as tripropylene glycol and propylene glycol. The compositions further comprise water and are gelled with alkali metal salts of saturated fatty acids, preferably sodium salts. The compositions will, generally, also comprise surfactants, emollients, fatty alcohols, stabilizing agents, antimicrobial agents, coloring agents (dyes), cooling agents, pH regulating agents, chelating agents, additives, fillers and the like, and combinations thereof. Deodorants refer to compositions in final, intermediate and base forms having fragrance or other active compounds to mask odors. This is contrasted with antiperspirant compositions that comprise active compounds that either absorb moisture or prevent excretion from the sweat glands of the human axilla.
The compositions are, preferably, sodium stearate gelled systems. The sodium stearate is used to gel the components of the composition so that the deodorant can be in the form of solid or gel sticks.
The invention concerns cosmetic compositions, such as deodorant compositions, having a base solvent system comprising at least diglycerol. While not limiting the scope of the invention, the invention shall now be described in detail with respect to the most preferred embodiment of the invention, that is solid or gel stick-type deodorant compositions.
The deodorant stick-type compositions comprise from about 5% to about 85% of a base solvent system comprising at least diglycerol, about 10% to about 30% water, preferably deionized water, about 1% to about 10% gelling agent, such as sodium stearate, about 0.5% to about 10% surfactant, about 0.1% to about 4% fragrance and about 0.1% to about 1.5% antibacterial active. The compositions may also comprise other fillers and additives, such as emollients, fatty alcohols, stabilizing agents, coloring agents (dyes), cooling agents, processing aids and the like, and combinations thereof. For example, an additive such as crystal inhibitors like stearyl alcohol can be included in the composition to improve stability by reducing crystal formation.
The base solvent system must comprise diglycerol and the deodorant stick-type composition will generally have from about 5% to about 60%, preferably about 15% to about 50%, diglycerol. Diglycerol is a polyol consisting of two molecules of glycerol bonded by an ether linkage and is available from Solvay Interox, Inc., Houston, Tex., USA. Diglycerol is a clear viscous liquid which is larger than most other molecules generally used as humectants or in base solvent systems in deodorant stick-type compositions, as well as other deodorant or cosmetic compositions. Diglycerol is a clear and aesthetically pleasing product which is practically colorless and odorless and very mild to the skin which is desirable compared to propylene glycol, that is traditionally used in deodorant stick-type compositions, which has the drawback of generally being associated with irritation potential. A significant advantage of the invention is the ability to eliminate or reduce the use of propylene glycol in deodorant stick-type compostions as well as other deodorant or cosmetic compositions.
Base solvents used in the invention may further comprise polyhydric alcohols including polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, ethylene glycol, butylene glycol, hexylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, tripropylene glycol, sorbitol, glycerine and combinations thereof, and monohydric alcohols such as those selected from the group consisting of ethanol, propanol, combinations thereof and the like. A preferred base solvent system comprises diglycerol and propylene glycol and/or tripropylene glycol, and combinations thereof. Generally, when present in the deodorant compositions, the compositions will comprise from about 5% to about 45% propylene glycol and up to about 70%, preferably from about 10% to about 50%, most preferably from about 10% to about 40%, tripropylene glycol.
The selection of glycol in the base solvent system can affect the appearance of the deodorant composition and we have found that the use of diglycerol provides for enhanced clarity, particularly when combining diglycerol with tripropylene glycol and propylene glycol. Although any amount of each compound in the base solvent system is useful in the invention, a base solvent system having a ratio of diglycerol: tripropylene glycol: propylene glycol of from about 3.5:3.5:1 to about 2.2:2.2:1 is particularly useful. Also, a base solvent system comprising diglycerol and propylene glycol, preferably having a ratio of diglycerol: propylene glycol of about 1:0.5 to about 1:1 is useful for the invention. These preferred base solvent systems may be comprised of, consist essentially of or consist of these components. These base solvent systems when consisting essentially of diglycerol and tripropylene glycol and/or propylene glycol will enhance the clarity of any cosmetic composition.
Any gelling agent used in the art of soaps or deodorants may be used in the invention. These gelling agents are generally a metal salt of one or more fatty acids having a chain length of 12-22 carbon atoms. The fatty acid portion of the gelling agent is preferably a relatively pure saturated or unsaturated C12-C22 fatty acid including myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, linoleic, linolenic, and combinations thereof. Preferred gelling agents include sodium stearate, potassium stearate, sodium palmitate, potassium myristate, sodium myristate, combinations thereof and the like, with sodium stearate (available from RTD HallStar Corp. (xe2x80x9cRTD HallStarxe2x80x9d), Hackettstown, N.J., USA) being most preferred. The gelling agent may be present in the composition at a level of from about 1% to about 10%, preferably about 3% to about 9%, and most preferably from about 4% to about 8%.
Any surfactant acceptable for cosmetic use or topical application may be used, including, by way of non-limiting example, nonionic and anionic surfactants. Suitable nonionic surfactants include those selected from the group consisting of laureth-4, ethoxylated hydrogenated castor oil (such as PEG-40, available from BASF, Mount Olive, N.J., USA), alkyl polyglycoside sodium laureth-13 carboxylate, isosteareth-20, isocetheth-20 and ethoxylated dimethicone copoylol, (such as that available from Goldschmidt A G, Essen, Germany, under the tradename ABIL(copyright)). Suitable anionic surfactants include those selected from the group consisting of taurates, sarcosinates, isothionates, sulfosuccinates, derivatives thereof, and the like. Combinations of these nonionic and/or anionic surfactants can be used. Incorporating surfactants into the deodorant sticks is particularly useful to reduce syneresis and to further improve the clarity of the compositions. Emollients include any cosmetic emollients suitable for use in clear glycol base systems.
The fragrance may be selected from the group consisting of any cosmetically acceptable fragrance or fragrances acceptable for topical application. The fragrance should be suitable for masking malodor, such as malodor associated with human sweat. By way of non-limiting examples, these fragrances include those comprising middle note and/or top note volatile constituents, like those selected from the group consisting of allyl amyl glycolate, dihydromyrcenol, aldehyde C-12 MNA, decanol, isobornyl acetate, LILAL(copyright), tricyclo decenyl acetate, benzyl salicylate, and the like, and combinations thereof.
Any antibacterial active acceptable for underarm application can be used in the deodorant compositions. Antibacterial ingredients, by non-limiting example, include those selected from the group consisting of triclosan, bacteriostatic quaternary ammonium compounds such as benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, cetyl pyridium chloride, lauryl pyridium chloride and methyl benzethonium chloride; triclocarbon; zinc phenol sulfonate; zinc ricinoleate; triethyl citrate; essential oils; and combinations thereof and the like. The most preferred deodorant active is triclosan. The fragrance may also have antibacterial properties.
The deodorant compositions, comprising diglycerol have exemplary clarity, which is particularly important when the deodorant composition is in the form of a clear stick. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, we believe that this may result from the refractive index of diglycerol which is 1.49 compared to clear gels that generally have a refractive index between about 1.44 and about 1.45.
The deodorant compositions exhibit directional increase in fragrance longevity and stronger fragrance impact from the stick. While not wishing to be bound by any theory, we believe that this may result from the size of the diglycerol molecule and its interaction with the fragrance. Because of the size of the diglycerol molecule, it will bind the fragrance after application and because of the relatively slow dissolution rate of diglycerol, the fragrance will be maintained in the deodorant film that is formed upon application of the deodorant. Also, because the diglycerol is a large molecule, the diffusion of the fragrance from the film will be slower.
In addition, the deodorants comprising diglycerol have improved skin feel in that there is less tack and stickiness during and after application. Again, not wishing to be bound by any theory, this may result because diglycerol has emollient properties which give the compositions smooth feel, which may occur because the diglycerol remains on the surface of the skin and acts as a barrier against transepidermal water loss by evaporation. Also, the deodorants comprising diglycerol will have reduced irritation potential because the compositions either do not comprise propylene glycol, or have a reduced amount of propylene glycol, compared to conventional deodorant formulations.
The compositions, particularly deodorant compositions, comprising the base solvent system having at least diglycerol can be made by first combining the diglycerol, and any other components of the base solvent system with water, preferably at elevated temperatures of about 60xc2x0 C. to about 80xc2x0 C., and mixing. Next, the gelling agent, such as sodium stearate and optionally other additives, such as stearyl alcohol are added with continued mixing, preferably at the elevated temperatures. Then, the surfactant is added with continued mixing, preferably at the elevated temperatures of about 60xc2x0 C. to about 80xc2x0 C., until a uniform mixture is achieved. Finally, the antibacterial active and fragrance are added to the uniform mixture and the composition can be poured into containers. As would be understood to one skilled in the art, the process can be modified slightly to accommodate various components of the base solvent system based on the characteristics of the components and also fillers and additives can be added at any step of the process.